‘We might be a paycheck away’: Mansfield residents urge alternatives to ‘camping’ ban

MANSFIELD — Anthony Brown spent 23 years experiencing homelessness. Now, the nurse practitioner, author and community advocate is working to help others find the stability he once sought.

Brown brought that perspective to Mansfield City Council, urging city leaders to consider housing solutions as they debate a proposed downtown camping ban.

Brown said he spent the 27 years since his experience with homelessness trying to find solutions and believes the community can make progress by working together.

“I know what it means to have nowhere to go, to feel forgotten and to wonder whether tomorrow will be different,” the Mansfield resident said. “I also know what happens when someone is given an opportunity.”

Council agreed to give the community more time to explore those solutions, unanimously voting to send the proposed ordinance back to the Zoning Committee until May 18, 2027. The motion also established a progress check-in for Feb. 16.

In its current form, the law would prohibit people from establishing temporary or permanent living accommodations in outdoor public spaces or unpermitted private property across the downtown Central Business District.

It would define camping through observable activities such as setting up tents or shelters, arranging bedding or furniture, storing belongings in a manner that indicates someone intends to establish living quarters, or using fires, stoves or grills for habitation.

The proposal would not automatically classify someone as camping simply for being outdoors, sitting, lying down, resting or using a blanket solely for warmth. It also includes exceptions for permitted events, emergencies and other specified circumstances.

Penalties would escalate under a tiered structure, starting as a minor misdemeanor and rising to higher-degree misdemeanors for repeat offenses within a 12-month period.

Residents urge council to consider broader solutions

Brown was among several residents who spoke during Wednesday’s meeting, offering personal perspectives on homelessness, housing insecurity and the challenges people face when trying to find stability.

“I often say one life does make a difference,” Brown said. “Imagine what we could accomplish if we all brought our lives together.”

Kathy Goodwin, who has worked with housing-insecure families and teenagers, said her experience operating a downtown gallery for eight years gave her firsthand insight into concerns business owners face.

She acknowledged some interactions with people experiencing homelessness could be frightening, but cautioned against treating everyone in the same way.

“When you talk about the unhoused or homeless, you have to realize you’re not just talking about people who are sitting downtown because they are vagrant,” she said.

She recalled working with a 17-year-old who could not get an apartment and slept in the library parking lot. The teenager also struggled to stay at Wayfinders because of her behavior, Goodwin said.

“There are so many personalities out there. It’s not just one unhoused [person] we’re talking about,” Goodwin said. “When you’re talking about this issue, please remember that it’s not just one answer.”

When we’re moving these people away, we need to have somewhere in place for them to go.

5th Ward Councilman Aurelio Diaz

Valerie Rust, a founding member of the Starfish Project in Richland County, said she supports downtown business owners and understands their concerns.

However, she questioned whether arresting and temporarily incarcerating people would address the reasons they remain homeless.

“It’s going to be a cycle that repeats,” Rust said. “If you keep arresting them, are you going to escalate their behaviors? I believe you will.”

Rust, whose organization help people struggling with substance use disorders and mental health challenges find hope and recovery, asked council to give the community six months to explore alternatives.

“There are communities in Ohio that have funding streams and alternative options outside the box that don’t involve incarceration,” Rust said. “We can expand our vision.”

Council calls for collaboration and more time

Fifth Ward Councilman Aurelio Diaz said conversations with community organizations, business owners, faith leaders and people experiencing homelessness helped him better understand the challenges surrounding the proposed ordinance.

Diaz said he understands concerns from downtown businesses because he lives downtown and has experienced some of those issues firsthand.

“As you can imagine, there was a lot of shared information and perspectives to combat homelessness and camping, as well as concerns with the legislation,” Diaz said. “When we’re moving these people away, we need to have somewhere in place for them to go.”

He said the community needs to bring its resources and ideas together before moving forward with the legislation.

“We’re all on the verge of being homeless,” Diaz said. “We might be a paycheck away from being who we are observing outside.”

The city in 2024 allocated $872,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds, to help Wayfinders, the local homeless shelter, build a new facility at 661 Park Ave. East.

That site is expected to open by the end of 2026. It will have 80 beds, more than the current 56-bed site at 124 W. Third St.

Council also approved an ordinance Wednesday evening to move $19,891.29 in unused American Rescue Plan Act funds to the Wayfinders project.

Councilwoman Crystal Davis-Weese supported giving the community more time to develop long-term solutions. She said the effort would require participation from residents, churches, elected officials and people who have experienced homelessness.

“Some of those ideas have to come from the resident experts in this,” Davis-Weese said. “We really need to bring those members of the community to the table to have a conversation about how to solve this problem.

“It’s one thing to sit in this cushy chair and tell you that I have a solution, but I have never been homeless, ever,” she added. “So, that’s not something that I can do. I really need those voices.”

Davis-Weese said short-term placements do not necessarily provide lasting solutions and offered to lend her voice to the effort.

Mayor Jodie Perry also welcomed council’s consideration of a delay. She said the proposed ordinance did not come about because of downtown business owners, but emphasized their concerns deserve attention.

“Those people have invested their entire livelihoods in their businesses,” she said.

“There’s coordination that does happen outside of the government entities,” Perry said. “I am ready to roll up my sleeves and continue the work that has begun.”